Indices of physiological regulation (i.e., resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] and RSA suppression) and observed fearfulness were tested as predictors of empathy-related reactions to an unfamiliar person’s simulated distress within and across 18 (T1, N = 247) and 30 (T2, N = 216) months of age. Controlling for T1 helping, high RSA suppression and low fearfulness at T1 predicted T2 helping. In a structural model, empathic concern was marginally positively related to resting RSA at both assessments whereas personal distress was related to RSA suppression within time (marginally positively at T1 and significantly negatively at T2). Fearfulness was associated with self-oriented, distress-related reactions within time. Comfort seeking (an index of personal distress) declined in mean level with age whereas helping increased, and both behaviors exhibited differential continuity (as did resting RSA). Individual, as well as developmental, differences in the types of reactions that young children exhibit when witnessing others’ suffering and distress were discussed.

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We examined the relations of 84 preschoolers' (43 boys; mean age = 54 months) situational stress reactivity to their observed emotions and mothers' reports of temperament and adjustment. Salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) were collected prior to, and following, a frustrating task. Children's anger, sadness, and positive affect were measured, and mothers reported on preschoolers' dispositional emotionality, regulation, impulsivity, and problem behaviors. Forty-seven percent of children had an increase in sAA and 52% had an increase in cortisol following the challenging task. On average, sAA levels showed the predicted pattern of rise following the frustrating task, followed by return to baseline. For cortisol, there was a mean increase from pre-task to 40 minutes post-test. sAA reactivity was associated with relatively low levels of dispositional anger and impulsivity and relatively high regulation, particularly for girls. sAA reactivity also was related to low externalizing problems for girls, but not boys. Although cortisol reactivity was unrelated to children's emotions and maladjustment, it was positively related to mothers' reports of regulation. The findings suggest that sAA reactivity in response to a frustrating social task may reflect girls' constrained behavior.In recent years, a growing body of literature has advanced our understanding of the role of emotional reactivity and regulation on children's social functioning (Eisenberg, Spinrad, et al., 2004;Rothbart & Bates, 2006;Spinrad et al., 2007). Increasingly, investigators have employed multi-level measurements of behavioral and psychobiological reactivity and regulation in an effort to further advance theory (e.g., Cicchetti & Blender, 2004). Thus far, the majority of empirical work has focused on integrating minimally invasive measures (in saliva) of the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis; however, technical advances have recently enabled developmental researchers to also include salivary measures of the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (e.g., . The present study is among the first to examine the correlates and concomitants of salivary markers of both the HPA axis and the SNS in preschoolers in response to a social frustration.Correspondence concerning this article can be emailed to the first author at E-mail: tspinrad@asu.edu. Tracy L. Spinrad, Arizona State University, School of Social and Family Dynamics, PO Box 873701; Tempe,. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. One of the main components of the psychobiology of stress involves th...

The goal of this study was to test if both effortful control (EC) and impulsivity, a reactive index of temperament, uniquely predict adolescents' academic achievement, concurrently and longitudinally (Time 1: N = 168, X age = 12 years). At Time 1, parents and teachers reported on students' EC and impulsivity. At both time points, spaced 2 years apart, parents and teachers reported on students' achievement. In a concurrent regression, both EC and impulsivity were positively related to achievement. At T1, there was evidence of a nonlinear relation between impulsivity and achievement, and the shape of the quadratic was dependent on if EC was simultaneously considered. Results from a longitudinal analysis demonstrated that although parent-reported impulsivity was generally negatively correlated with achievement, EC, but not impulsivity, was prospectively, uniquely related to achievement. The discussion highlights the value of considering adolescents' EC and impulsivity in models of school success.

Keywordsadjustment; temperament; children of alcoholics; emotion regulation; substance use/abuseThe relations of control/regulation-related temperamentally based dispositions (effortful control [EC], impulsivity, and approach/avoidance) to externalizing problems and personality ego resiliency were examined in a sample of 467 children (M age = 7.46 years), some of whom were children of alcoholics (COAs). In addition, we examined if the relations of temperamental regulation/control to maladjustment/ego resiliency were moderated by COA status or sex of the child. In general, regulated, controlled temperament was negatively related to externalizing problems and EC was positively related to ego resiliency. Relations between a problematic temperament and externalizing problems were stronger and sometimes only found for COAs, especially male COAs. Ego resiliency was positively related to high father-reported approach for boys who were not sons of alcoholics. In addition, COA status was related to high impulsivity, approach behavior, and externalizing problems and low EC.Individual differences in temperamental regulation and behavioral reactivity (e.g., impulsivity) have been found to relate to maladjustment (Rothbart & Bates, 2006) and to ego resiliency (e.g., Eisenberg et al., 2004). In the present study, we examined the relations of temperamental impulsivity, effortful control (EC), and approach behavior to externalizing problems and ego resiliency in a sample including numerous children at risk (i.e., children of alcoholics, COAs). COA children appear to be especially at risk for both problematic temperament and maladjustment; indeed, it has been argued that temperamental risk is a major factor in the increased maladjustment of COAs (see below). Because temperamental vulnerability may be an especially important predictor of adjustment in COAs, we examined if COA status moderated relations of temperamental regulation and behavioral reactivity to maladjustment (i.e., externalizing problems) and ego resiliency, as well as differences in Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nancy Eisenberg, Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104.. Cynthia L. Smith is now at the Department of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Qing Zhou is at the Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley. Jeffrey Liew is now at the School of Education, Texas A & M. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptSoc Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 January 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptCOAs and non-COAs in mean levels of temperament, maladjustment, and ego resiliency. Undercontrolled and reactive behaviors were expected to be stronger predictors of maladjustment and perhaps ego resiliency for COAs and non-COAs due to the former's genetic and environment risks. Temperamental Regulation and Reactivity and Their Relations to AdjustmentTemperament includes both regulatory and reactive components (Rothbart & Bates...